Fallen Angel
by TyraLauren
Summary: The wars are over. Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase are now 18. A girl falls from the sky, sent by someone warning of more deaths and a possible upcoming war. This girl is their only chance. MESSAGE TO READERS: I do not count Nico as gay in this story.
1. Chapter 1

A camper was strolling the camp's borders, particularly near the river. He had full armor on, as if he was prepared for battle. He had black, windblown hair, which drooped over his sea green eyes. He looked about eighteen years old, and had multiple scars as if he had survived multiple battles.

The teenager jerked his head up, a call from further inland interrupting his thoughts. He smiled lovingly as a girl, the same age as him but a bit shorter, jogged towards him. She, too, was in full armor. She had her blonde hair tied back in a ponytail, tanned skin, and strikingly gray eyes. She had a concerned and loving look for the boy.

"Hey, Perce." She pecked him on the lips. "Are you alright?"

Percy looked back to the water and frowned. "Yes, I'm fine, but the water isn't. It seems unsettled, as if something is stirring underneath it."

Unnerving warm wind blew in the silence as the two campers stared at the water. Then, the girl, Annabeth, gasped.

"Percy!" Percy's eyes looked to where Annabeth pointed- up. He opened the pen he brought out of his pocket and it turned into a full Greek sword. Annabeth's hand fell on her sword's handle, on her belt.

Something was falling out of the sky- something big. And it was hurtling straight towards the water.

"Underneath it," Annabeth mumbled, not sure whether to step closer or farther away from the lake, "or above it."

The water started to move with the force of the wind of the object above it. The water was drooping down in the middle, where the impact would be in a few seconds.

Realizing the figure of the object was that of a person's, Percy concentrated with all his might to make the impact on the water lessen. There was the strong sensation of a knot in his gut, and suddenly-

 _WHOOM_

The impact was indeed large, flinging tons of water into the air and gallons dropping on Percy and Annabeth. They were soaking wet, head to toe. Percy instantly dried himself. Annabeth glared at him and he shrugged as if to say "Sorry, I'm the son of Poseidon." After glaring at him one more time, Annabeth ran towards the foamy water, with Percy behind her.

Though the froth of the water, a girl washed ashore. Percy and Annabeth, working together, pulled the girl farther from the water. They both gazed in wonder and curiosity at her when she suddenly opened her eyes, which were glowing white.

"Um," Percy started to say. The girl's attention turned to him, which ended up with her seizing his shoulders with all the strength she could muster.

 _"Perseus Jackson,"_ she said, in not a regular girl's voice but many voices into one. _"I bring your camp this girl to warn you of numerous deaths soon to come. She can help stop these deaths and a coming war in many ways, but you do not want to be her enemy."_

And with that, her eyes closed and she went limp. Percy and Annabeth stared at her in shock for a moment until Annabeth leapt up and ran towards camp, calling out, "Chiron!"

Percy continued to stare at the girl in horror, his only thought being, _No._

 **Author's note: Hello! So I finally made a story that I actually might update often, so look out for more! I have absolutely no idea what this story is going to be about, so I'll just go along with it for now. Thanks for reading, and enjoy!**


	2. Chapter 2

Helia woke up in a warm, cozy bed. She didn't open her eyes at first, unsure of where she was. She heard voices in the distance that made her curious. Finally, she decided to reveal that she was awake.

She opened her eyes. They were very peculiar eyes, as if someone had sprinkled gold glitter in black paint. They darted around, taking in her surroundings. Then she sat up.

It looked like she was in an infirmary. Beds were lined up against the walls, her's one of them. Only two or three people were in a bed each, being attended to.

"...blame you if I get hypothermia," said a girl with grey eyes as she came into the room with a raven-haired boy. Helia's attention turned to them as she realized that they were approaching her bed.

"Oh, come on!" the boy complained. "It's not my fault that you don't have instant blow-drying powers."

The girl glared at him and realized that Helia was awake. "Oh... hello."

Helia stared at them blankly. "Um... Hello." She had so many questions that she had no idea which to ask first. For example, who were they? Where was she? Was she captured in some devil's prison with a nice hospital room?

"You probably have a lot of questions," said the boy carefully, looking at the girl warily. He walked closer to Helia, who nodded. "My name is Percy Jackson, and this is Annabeth Chase," he said, gesturing to the girl. Helia widened her eyes slightly at the name _Percy Jackson_ , but she nodded at him to continue. "This place you're in, it's called Camp Half-Blood. Not this room, this is the infirmary, but the place where this room is in."

"Percy-" Annabeth tried to cut him off, but he continued.

"The camp is basically a safe place for demigods- half bloods, half mortal, half god. The children of the gods. Greek gods, that is. So Annabeth and I are demigods. Annabeth is the daughter of Athena, and-"

"You're the son of Poseidon?" Helia interrupted. Percy gaped at her.

"How-how did you know?" he stammered.

"The scent of the sea."

"Oh, well, yeah, the sea and Poseidon, and he's the god of the sea and all.."

Annabeth pushed Percy aside. "Sorry about that, I don't know what's gotten to him. So you know about the Greek gods?"

"Yes..." Helia said uneasily. "I have lived on Olympus for quite a while..."

It was Annabeth's turn to gape at her. "You've _lived_ on Olympus?"

"This just gets better and better. Explaining for nothing," Percy muttered.

Annabeth put her hand on Percy's face to stop him from talking. "Do you know who your godly parent is?"

Helia shook her head.

Percy's muffled voice came from behind Annabeth's hand. "How about she tell us about herself?"

"Yeah, great idea, Perce," Annabeth said with mock enthusiasm. Percy managed to peel her hand off his face and gave an exaggerated sigh of relief.

Helia took a shaky breath and began. "My name is Helia, I am sixteen years old, and I do not know my last name. I lived with my mother for the first ten years of my life, but then she disappeared. I do not know if she is dead or not. She was French, and taught me the language, so I speak French and English fluently. I learned Greek when I was thirteen. At age twelve, I was caught in a terrible accident that I think you know of." She pointed out a handful of pure white hair from her pure black. Percy and Annabeth gasped- she had held up the sky.

"It was over there where I first heard the name _Percy Jackson_. The General Atlas had mentioned the name to a boy with the name of Luke. It was also the place where I first discovered that the gods were real. Artemis had secretly sent me to Olympus, where I was educated and trained. I tried to find out where my mother was, or at least find out who my godly parent was, but I had no luck. Because I still don't know, Hestia made herself my patron goddess. The last thing I remember was that a man encountered me and told me to look for a camp and warn them about something. He didn't tell me what to warn them about. The next thing I know, I wake up here. I do not know know how I got here."

Percy and Annabeth glanced at each other. "You fell out of the sky," Percy said.

There was an awkward silence, until Helia said, confused, "I fell from _Olympus?_ "

"I don't think from _Olympus_ , but..."

She stood up from her bed and brushed her waist-length hair out of her eyes. "I do not feel any pain." They were all confused.

Suddenly, a boy about the same age as Helia burst into the room. "Chiron wants to talk to you..." His gaze landed on her. "All three of you."

"Okay," Annabeth said. "Helia, this is Nico di Angelo, son of Hades. Nico, this is Helia."

"Hello," Helia said quietly. She was usually a shy person when meeting new people. Nico nodded to her.

They walked toward the door. Near the door, there was a full body mirror. Helia stopped to look at her reflection. She looked the same as she did normally on Olympus- a black leather jacket, a red, short sleeve shirt, skinny jeans, and brown combat boots. But something was different about her- and not about her appearance. There was was a glowing blue symbol above her head- a zero with a line going horizontally across it, a _theta_ , the symbol of...

"Hail daughter of Thanatos," Annabeth whispered.

 **Author's note: So I just finished the Kane Chronicles series and OMGG it's so good. I can't believe people are all like, "Oh my god I love the Percy Jackson and Magnus Chase books! I haven't really read the Kane Chronicles, though. I've read the first book and it's SO boring." Actually, I was like that not so long ago. Anyways, my point is, please read it! It's totally worth it, trust me. It has a final battle possibly even better than the Blood of Olympus one, I dare say. And it has a MAJOR twist in the last book. Okay I have to study for my last exams tomorrow, so byeeee!**

 **PS: Happy birthday Hazel!**


	3. Chapter 3

Helia, Annabeth, Percy, and Nico walked toward Chiron, who was waiting for them at the door of the Big House in his centaur form. Helia kept on glancing up, as if the blue symbol might appear again. It didn't.

"Ah, our new camper," said Chiron, taking a step toward her. "What's your name?"

"Helia," she said quietly.

"Do you know who your godly parent is?"

"Yes, Thanatos."

Chiron nodded. "It's nice to meet you, Helia. I am Chiron, director of the camp's activities. I look forward to seeing you again. Nico, could you take her on a tour of the camp? I need to speak with Percy and Annabeth."

Nico nodded and started to walk. As Chiron, Percy, and Annabeth went back inside the Big House, Helia ran to catch up with Nico.

There was an awkward silence between them until Nico decided to speak. "So, um... You've lived on Olympus?"

Helia's olive-colored face heated up. "You heard?"

Nico turned red. "No- er, yes. I was going to come in to tell you all that Chiron wanted to talk to you, but I waited until you finished talking. I didn't mean to eavesdrop purposely, I-I just heard from outside."

Helia tried to hide a smile. "It's okay. Just.. don't tell anyone, please."

"Okay."

She looked away.

After a few minutes of walking, Nico said, "This is the amphitheater. This is where the nightly sing-alongs and other gatherings take place. The campfire over there is enchanted so that the color reflects the mood of the group."

"What color is the campfire usually?" Helia asked.

"I've never actually pay attention to the color," Nico said quietly.

Next was was the mess hall. "This is the place where we usually eat," Nico said.

"What is that big crack in the floor?" Helia asked.

"I- er- um-" Nico stammered. He turned red again and didn't answer. Helia decided not to push the subject.

After a tour of most of the camp, Nico led Helia to the cabins. "This is where we usually stay. Demigods are separated based off their godly parent, so there is a cabin each for most of the gods. The Thanatos cabin is behind my cabin right there- that's the Hades cabin. The hearth of Hestia is in the middle of the cabins."

"Thank you," said Helia quietly, before she went to her cabin.

That night at the sing-alongs with the Apollo cabin, Nico payed special attention to the color of the campfire.

 **A/N: I watched Star Wars VII today! It was awesome. I know I've developed feelings for Kylo Ren, but I'm not sure if they're positive or negative, yet (And yes I just quoted** **movie Annabeth).**


	4. Chapter 4

There were three other people in the Thanatos cabin besides Helia- one girl and two boys.

"Hello," said the girl as Helia walked in. It looked as if the three of them were having an argument. "Are you our new sister?"

"Er... yes."

"My name's Elina, and these two idiots here are Jack and Paul. They fight a lot."

The two boys turned to Elina and Helia and pointed to each other, yelling, "HE ALWAYS STARTS IT!"

Elina rolled her eyes. "Anyway, what's your name?"

"I'm Helia."

Elina held out her hand and Helia shook it. "Nice to meet you, Helia."

Over the next few days, Helia got comfortable with her new family. She got her schedule and made new friends. She usually hung out at Hestia's hearth in the middle of the circle of cabins, where it felt like home. Whenever she went near it, she would always feel as if she was back in the comfort of Hestia's arms.

Helia spent her time with either Elina or Percy and Annabeth. She was always the quiet one (she still was quite shy), but as time went on, she would talk and laugh more.

She barely ever saw Nico, not that it mattered much. But when his name came up in a conversation with Percy and Annabeth, she asked about him.

"He frequently visits his sister at Camp Jupiter," Percy said.

"He has a sister?" asked Helia, bewildered. "There's another camp?"

"Her name is Hazel, but she's the daughter of Hades's Roman form, Pluto. The camp is a camp for Roman demigods. We visit every once in a while," Annabeth explained.

One day, Helia walked into the Thanatos cabin to find Elina on the ground wrestling Jack- playfully, of course.

Helia walked over to her bed, unnoticed by the others. She decided to watch from there, unsure of what else to do.

"You need to build some muscles, you big baby!" Elina yelled into Jack's ear.

Paul looked up from his book and added, "Yeah, between the ears!"

Helia fell off her bed, laughing.

 **Author's note: Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it! Happy holidays! (Sorry for the short chapter. I had to post something for my followers, though!)**


	5. Chapter 5

"They've got the whole camp surrounded!"

Helia stood up from her seat in the middle of eating her breakfast, confused. "Who?" she asked Elina, who was sitting on her right.

She stood, grinning. "The Hunters of Artemis."

Later that day, conflict arose between the Hunters and the campers- the main two arguers were Percy and the lieutenant Hunter, Thalia.

"Kelp Head!" Thalia threw at him as a final insult.

"Pinecone Face!" Percy literally threw a pinecone at her head. As she swatted it away, her eyes became stormy and little bolts of electricity flew off her armor. The other Hunters aimed their spears at him and the rest of the campers backed away.

"That's it," said Thalia, her hands balling into fists. "I challenge you to a game of Capture the Flag." The campers groaned and the Hunters grinned. The Hunters won every time they played Capture the Flag against the campers. It was hopeless.

The next day, everyone woke up early to get ready for combat. Helia wasn't too thrilled- she had never fought before. Sure, she had taken lessons from many people on Olympus, but she never played an actual game of Capture the Flag. And she wasn't very happy that she was on the opposite team of her old friends.

She chose the armor that fit her best and a simple combat sword, but she felt as if she wouldn't need it much. Walking toward the forest, she spotted Thalia talking with a small group of Hunters. Thalia noticed as she was walking and called out to her.

"Hey, Helia!"

Helia gave a small wave and walked up to them. "Hello."

Thalia put her arm around her shoulders. "You got out of Olympus, then?"

Helia laughed. "No... but how I got here is a _really_ long story."

"Did you find out who your godly parent is?" asked another Hunter.

"Yeah, it's Thanatos. I didn't find out anything about my mother, though."

"Helia!" Someone else was calling her, Elina, probably.

"I'll see you later," said Helia as she walked away.

As she arrived at the campers' side, Elina demanded, "How are you so friendly with them?"

Helia gave her a confused smile. "I'm friends with them. I encountered them a few times and got to know them."

"Well now we're against them, so you shouldn't be so friendly with them."

Chiron somehow got everyone's attention. "Remember, the river is the border. Whichever side steals the other's flag and brings it back to their base wins. Good luck!"

The game had started.

Annabeth directed everyone where to go. "Hermes, Dionysus, and Apollo cabins, go see if you could set up a distraction. Aphrodite... do whatever you can. Athena cabin, follow me. And you guys..." She turned to Helia's small group and smiled awkwardly. "Do the best you can."

"So..." Helia looked around at the group. Her, Elina, Jack, Paul, and Nico, who had come back. "Let's see what we can do."

They ran into the woods with the others. As the other cabins were passing them, Helia heard one person from the Apollo cabin yell, "HEY NICO! NO DEATH MAGIC."

Nico rolled his eyes and yelled back, "I KNOW, WILL."

Death magic... teleportation? Helia had heard from somewhere that the children of the underworld can shadow-travel, but she never thought she would have that power. She had never done magic in her life, so she couldn't master it easily and in time.

"Helia!" Elina panted, coming to a stop. "You're in command. What do we do?"

Helia looked bewildered. "I'm in charge?" She looked around and they all nodded. "Oh, er... I don't know yet. Can we use magic?" They nodded again. "What could we do?"

Nico said, "I can't use any more magic because if I use anymore then I'll...die, I think. But I can show you what to do."

"Yay!" Elina exclaimed, throwing her arms around Nico, who looked very uncomfortable. He looked at Helia for help.

"What can you show us?" Helia asked, pulling Elina off Nico.

As Nico started explaining, Jack and Paul started arguing again. They were getting very loud, but Helia heard a sound through their bickering.

"Shh!"

It was too late. Hunters had surrounded them, aiming their weapons at them. Helia was so surprised that she backed up quickly and tripped against a tree root. She braced herself for the fall, but it didn't come.

Suddenly, she felt weary. She looked around and found that she was in a different area of the forest. Then it dawned on her what had happened, and she grinned. She had shadow traveled. Helia looked around and found the lake nearby, and beyond that, the Hunters' flag. Helia couldn't believe it.

She tried shadow traveling short distances with sticks in her hand to experiment. Yes, she could carry out her plan perfectly.

She side-stepped into the shadows, taking a deep breath. Then the flag was in front of her.

Cries erupted all around her; the Hunters were calling recruits. Helia quickly grabbed the flag and shadow-traveled one last time.

She could see the friendly base in front of her. Deafening cheers came from all the campers, cheering her on as she ran as fast as she could towards the end.

She made it. They won. _She had beaten the Hunters_.

 **A/N: I AM FEELING THE TRIUMPH IN MY BONESSSSSSS.**


	6. Chapter 6

_She could see the friendly base in front of her. Deafening cheers came from all the campers, cheering her on as she ran as fast as she could towards the end._

 _She made it. They won._ She had beaten the Hunters _._

Helia sat on her bed in the cabin, her heart still racing from what had happened the previous day.

 _Campers all cheered at the same time as Helia reached the flag. The cheering turned to a loud_ ROAR _as Hunters came in time to see themselves lose for the first time ever._

Elina popped her head inside the cabin and grinned widely as she spotted her. "Come on, they want to see you at the Big House."

 _After all the excitement, she met Thalia. "Congrats, Helia! I didn't see that coming." They both laughed._

Helia had a really bad feeling in her stomach as she walked out with Elina.

 _"Helia, I need to have a talk with you tomorrow about something important," Chiron had said. He was obviously happy that they had won, but something was bothering him._

As they walked through camp, other campers noticed them and started cheering. Arriving at the Big House, Helia said bye to Elina and stepped inside. She was greeted by the sight of Chiron, Percy, Annabeth, Nico, Thalia, and a few other people. They applauded.

"Well done, my child, well done," said Chiron proudly, patting her on the back. She smiled.

"Thank you."

"Now, for introductions. You obviously know Percy, Annabeth, and Nico." Helia nodded as Chiron introduced the others. "I think you know Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus, lieutenant Hunter of Artemis. This is Jason Grace, her brother, Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite, Hazel Levesque, daughter of Hades- er, Pluto, and Rachel Elizabeth Dare, the Oracle."

Helia nodded a hello to each one of them and waited for Chiron to continue. "Percy and Annabeth told me the message you brought when you fell- about another war coming and that we would need your help to win it. Do you remember who sent you?"

Helia shook her head. "I only remember a man telling me to go to a camp. Then I woke up here."

"Rachel spoke another prophecy very recently that might be related to this war. Rachel?"

Rachel put a finger up. "Hold on, I'm trying to remember, but I can't-"

Suddenly, she stumbled. She looked down to steady herself, and when she looked up, her eyes were glowing green. Then she spoke.

" _Light awaits for four going south_  
 _War again shall soon break out_

 _"The impossible vows must be made_  
 _For one girl must come to the aid_

 _"One of the dark, one of the bright_  
 _One with the father who has the flight_."

Rachel blinked and her eyes turned back to their normal green color. Then she looked around. "Did it work?"

They all stared at her. "What?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips defensively.

"I have heard that prophecy before," Helia whispered. Everyone looked at her.

"Where?" asked Piper.

"I don't know; the prophecy sounds so familiar, but I can't seem to place it anywhere."

Annabeth looked at Chiron. "What do you think it means?"

"Considering the first line, _Light awaits four going south_ , it says that four people must venture on a quest going south. It also mentions _light_ , which must mean a god or goddess of light. When it says _south_ and _light_ , I think the prophecy is talking about Helios, the original personification of the sun. For some odd reason, he always spends his time in New Orleans, which is down south in Louisiana." Chiron looked around. "Any suggestions?"

"Well, the second line mentions something about war breaking out," Percy added helpfully. Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"About the _four-people_ quest, there are usually three people, right?" asked Thalia, who had an unusual ghastly look on her face. "So that means..."

"Remember the last time more than three people went on a quest?" Annabeth reminded everyone. "Three people came back. The fourth never did."

Thalia looked down to hide her tears and Jason shook his head sadly, saying, "Not good at all."

"The impossible vows," Hazel spoke up. "Does that confirm that someone really will die?"

There was an uncomfortable silence in the room. "The last time there was a prophecy which mentioned vows and promises..." Nico trailed off. Everyone looked solemn.

" _One girl must come to the aid_ ," Helia quoted, changing the touchy subject. "Is that me?"

Chiron considered. "I suppose so."

"That last part," Nico said. "It describes the people who should go on the quest. _One of the dark_ is probably me."

Percy snickered and Nico glared at him. Percy muttered a small "Sorry" after Annabeth elbowed him angrily in the ribs.

" _One of the bright_ ," Jason quoted. Everyone looked at Annabeth.

"Oh- I- Am I the only option for that here?" Annabeth stuttered. Nobody said anything otherwise.

"And _One with the father who has the flight_. I've seen Thanatos myself, so I know that he has wings," said Hazel. Percy nodded in agreement.

"So that means we get to pick who the last person is going to be," said Rachel, studying the already chosen. Percy and Annabeth glanced at each other and had a silent agreement: _No more separating. We either live together or die together_.

"I'm in," Percy announced, stepping forward and placing his arm around Annabeth's shoulders.

"It has been decided," said Chiron, bowing his head. "The four members of the quest."

 **A/N: NOW we're talking story! I'm so exciteddddd :D**


	7. Chapter 7

The four quest members had woken up early the day of their departure. Argus drove them down to Tennessee (fast driver). On the way, the only people really talking were Percy and Annabeth.

Percy: Do you think pigeons have feelings?

Annabeth: Why would you ask that?

Percy: 'Cause those pigeons seem to be fighting.

Annabeth: I suppose so.

Percy: I have a problem.

Annabeth: Yes?

Percy: I seem to think everything is an option.

Annabeth: Was our relationship an option?

Percy: Yes.

Annabeth: PERCY.

Percy: And it was the best choice I made.

Annabeth: Aww I love you!

Percy: I love you too, Wise Girl!

Nico couldn't handle it. He just stayed quiet, glad he couldn't interfere (he was sitting in the passenger seat). Helia had too much on her mind to be paying attention.

Finally, she spoke up. "I know who that man was who told me to warn the camp."

Percy and Annabeth stopped talking and the three of them looked at her.

"It was my father. Last night I dreamt of him and he told me that he was sorry we had to do all this. Especially you three, because you have been through too much already. He also told me that the next time we meet, whether in real life or in another dream, he will tell me who the villain is, who the one starting the war is and why."

They were silent for the rest of the trip. Helia looked outside her window as they were passing by towns.

They reached mid-Tennessee at night. Argus drove back and they decided to camp out for the night, since they were in the middle of nowhere.

"I'll take first watch," Helia said as they were setting up their camping area. Nobody objected; they were all exhausted.

Helia walked over to the side and sat down, thinking. After everyone had settled, Percy walked over and sat down next to her.

"Hey, sorry for acting weird before. I was just frustrated that we have to go through another war," Percy said quietly.

"It's okay, I understand," said Helia. She was gazing into the darkness.

"Is-is it okay if I ask you a favor?"

"Yeah, go ahead."

"I know this might refer to the 'impossible vow', but... if I'm the one to die... will you make sure Nico and Annabeth are safe? Can you protect them?"

Helia was silent. An eerie wind blew her hair around.

"I-I know that Annabeth would not want to be alive when I'm dead, and Nico.. he's been through some pretty tough times. So please..." Percy looked at her desperately.

"I promise I will protect them," Helia whispered. Percy breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you so much." He made his way back to the others.

 _The impossible vows must be made._

"I swear that I will protect all three of you," Helia whispered into the wind. "I swear it on the River Styx."

 **A/N: Short chapter, I know, but I had to write something! Big surprises coming up, lemme tell you that. No spoilers. :)**


	8. Chapter 8

She knew she was having a dream because she knew that she wasn't on Olympus anymore. But, Helia thought, why am I here?

She suddenly realized why when her father appeared before her. Thanatos had chocolate-covered skin, warm, coffee-colored eyes, and big, black winds that seemed to stretch out five feet both ways. He gave her a genuine smile.

"Helia, I have some news for you." He lowered his eyes. "I'm sorry, it's not very good news. I know who the enemy is."

Helia eagerly looked up at her father, who was at least a good 6 inches taller than her. "Who is it? Will we able to defeat it?"

Thanatos closed his eyes. "It is Chaos himself," he whispered. Helia stared at him. "The black hole. The deepest pit in the underworld, even below Tartarus. I dared to venture there to find out information about this new war and I heard armies of the most terrible monsters. Helia, you must find Helios fast. He will show you what you must do." He kissed her forehead and whispered, "Good luck, my daughter."

* * *

Helia woke up shaking. She heard someone ask frantically, "Helia, are you okay?"

"Nico, what's wrong?" Annabeth asked.

"Helia's awake, but she's all tensed up, and she's shaking."

Helia suddenly blinked, and she stopped shaking. Day had turned into night, and she was in a bed with a wet towel on her forehead.

Her first word was: "What?"

Nico jumped, falling out of the chair next to her bed. "What the- HELIA!"

"Hi. I didn't die, Nico..." She laughed.

"I-I know that, but you looked like you were having a seizure, and we kind of freaked out... We're in a motel, Percy and Annabeth went to get some food... What happened?" Nico rambled.

Helia sat up in bed and took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. "A dream, Thanatos talked to me about the enemy."

"The enemy?" Nico's eyebrows went up. "He found out who it was?"

Helia started shivering and she wrapped herself with a blanket. "It's beyond what we could think of."

"Who is it?"

"Chaos." The room seemed to get gloomier, but then Percy and Annabeth walked in, laughing, arms around each other. Nico watched them with envy as they enjoyed each other's company.

"Helia! You're up," Percy said with a grin.

"What happened?" Annabeth asked, sitting down on Helia's bed.

"Panic attack, I think," she said quietly. She told them her dream.

"I think we're all gonna get panic attacks now," Percy said after a long, despondent silence.

Nico put his head in his hands, trying to think straight. "What are we going to do now? We've been put into a situation that we can't handle by ourselves."

"So we get some help," Annabeth said, eyeing Helia, who put an end to the conversation.

"We find Helios."

 **A/N: I am currently crying for joy that I finally got this chapter done. And** **also crying because my eyes are hurting so bad from lack of sleep. Gtg sleep now, bye!**

 **PS Happy birthday Nico! My little Ghost King is a big boy now :) lol I'm done now bye**


	9. Chapter 9

_You cannot win._

Helia ran through the forest; she couldn't take the voices anymore.

 _Everyone you love will die._

She tripped over a log and fell. Instead of hitting the ground, she fell straight through the grass and continued falling into a pitch black chasm. Her screams were swallowed into the darkness.

 _If you make even one small mistake, everything will be destroyed._

Helia landed hard in dark, murky water. She struggled, trying to swim up, but she felt as if she had multiple weights tied to her ankles.

 _If you get too close to anyone, I take them._

Helpless, she sunk to the bottom of the water.

 _After all, I killed your mother._

* * *

Trembling, Helia woke up from her nightmare. She didn't realize she was crying until she touched her aching eyes.

It was still night, but everyone was awake. Percy and Annabeth were huddled by the crackling fire, talking in hushed voices. Nico was lying down on his back, staring up at the dark sky.

Unable to sleep anymore, Helia stood up and announced, "I'm going to take a walk in town." Percy and Annabeth nodded, and Nico continued observing the sky. She grabbed her sword and her bag and headed toward the town.

It was an old, almost abandoned village, she observed as she walked. As she passed by a small food shop, she decided to buy some food for the others. She walked toward the door and suddenly felt a presence behind her. Reaching for her sword, she spun around and found herself looking into the eyes of Nico di Angelo.

"Um," she said, suddenly self-conscious. "I-I was thinking about getting some food for everyone."

Nico nodded, glancing over at the food inside the shop. "What are you thinking of getting?"

They walked inside, looking around at the food displayed around the store. The man at the counter looked up at them but didn't say anything.

"Helia," said Nico, almost hesitantly.

She turned around to look at him. "Yes?"

"Yesterday when you suggested that we shadow-travel to go faster... I can't shadow-travel anymore, or use any magic for that matter. If I do one more time, I will literally turn into a ghost. I don't want you in my condition."

Helia looked down, feeling guilty. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault."

They walked around the store a little more. Outside, it started to get brighter.

Helia couldn't think of anything to buy, so she said, "How about we just buy apples?"

She looked up at Nico and found herself looking once more into the dark but soft eyes. Her heart started pounding and her face heated up as they slowly leaned closer to each other, their bodies almost touching.

"Yeah, apples sound nice," said Nico quietly. Helia closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and-

 _If you get too close to anyone, I take them._

"I-I'm sorry," she said, taking a step back. "I can't."

Nico was both embarrassed and confused. "What do you mean?"

"When I was younger, I had a friend. We were very close; we used to tell each other our biggest secrets. Then, out of nowhere, the ground opened up beneath her and she was gone. A few weeks later, she was found in a nearby lake, dead. Last night, I found out what happened to my mother- Chaos had killed her."

Tears started rolling down her cheeks. "H-he told me... he told me that if I get too close to anyone, he takes them. That's why I try to distance myself from everyone; I don't want anyone to get hurt. But I can't help it- I get too attached to people, and they end up getting hurt and I lose them."

She couldn't look at Nico, so she ended up covering her face with her hands. Her whole body shuddered from her sobs.

"So you're the girl," whispered a bone-chilling voice in Helia's ear. She shivered and looked up at Nico, who looked alarmed. She grabbed her sword and spun around, slicing in the air behind her. When she opened her eyes (she had closed them in fright), she yelped in surprise. It was the man at the counter, but instead of a man, it was the most horrifying monster Helia and Nico had ever seen, now decapitated. Its skin was brown and leathery and rough and had holes in it as if they were inside-out boils. It had a pie slice shape for a head with the nose as the point and a toothy grin as the pie filling. On its head were two curvy horns, and torn wings sprouted from its scaly back. It had more of a dragon shape than anything else.

"What _is_ that?" Nico asked, panicked and bewildered.

"It is the Chaos Monster Thanatos warned me about. He said there were armies of them." She widened her eyes. "Armies. Percy and Annabeth!" They raced out of the store back to their camp, where the others were. As as they were nearing Percy and Annabeth, a Chaos Monster emerged from the trees behind them and appeared to be moving toward Annabeth.

"ANNABETH!" Helia cried, still running. She was too far to do anything.

Annabeth looked up and was slow in her movements. As she turned around, the dragon-like creature pounced. Before it could land on her, though, hands from underground appeared and grabbed the creature by the legs and pulled it underground. Annabeth jumped back, drawing her sword. Percy uncapped his pen and Riptide emerged, glowing. Percy looked in Helia's direction and opened his mouth like he was going to yell, but no sound came out. Helia looked back and saw why.

Nico was on the ground, clutching his head. He had used the last of his magic to save Annabeth, and now he was turning translucent. Wind blew some of his ghostly figure away as he strained to keep himself together.

"NO!" Helia screamed, running back towards him. More Chaos Monsters approached, but she didn't care at the moment.

"Helia!" Percy yelled over the now increasing wind. "We need to go now!"

"Wait!" she yelled back. She looked at Nico, who seemed to be saying something over the howling wind.

"You can... without me!"

Helia shook her head. "No! I'm not leaving you!"

The pained look in his distorted eyes made her want to cry.

Helia tried to grab hold of Nico, but couldn't; her hand passed right through him- like the was a ghost.

Percy and Annabeth had approached, holding each other in one hand and a sword in the other. Percy tried to say something, most probably, "What are you doing?!"

From her time on Olympus, Helia had learned one trick- how to gather particles from the air to bring back or create something. She closed her eyes and concentrated with all her might and tried to grab Nico's hand once more. She succeeded.

As a dozen Chaos Monsters pounced, Helia grasped Annabeth's arm and all four of them disappeared into the monsters' shadows.

 **A/N: YAASSSS MOST INTENSE CHAPTER EVER! I was so excited to write this one :D My friend twinsarekeepers asked if Helico (their ship name) was going to kiss (multiple times, actually. It was quite annoying but hilarious) or if she was going to be disappointed and I said none; she wasn't gonna be disappointed and she was gonna be disappointed. I hope I was right. Anyway, the story is finally moving on! I think there will be more intense chapters like this one, but I can't promise anything. twinsarekeepers I hope you still aren't mad at me for not giving any spoilers for this chapter cuz it was really worth it! Right? XD**


	10. Kinda Important

**Guys this is kinda important.**

 **So first of all, to the people who gave offending reviews:**

 **I'm sorry if you think this is a sh** story. I'm still trying to improve my writing.**

 **No, I'm not a homophobe, and I'm sorry if I made you think that I am.**

 **Next, I need to tell you all something. I won't be updating very often due to emotional crisis and lack of time. But I promise you that I will update whenever I can :)**

 **-ZG**


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